Slap Guru
Slap Guru are a psychedelic rock band from Madrid, active since 2015. History Slap Guru was created with the assumption that music can become a liberating expedient. Just as the ancient Zen masters, who sometimes resorted with harsh methods to reach the Satori (even slapping the apprentice), Slap Guru tries to shake the bowels of the listener through the rock language. Slap Guru started to play together in February 2015 as the result of a long process of musical collaborations between the various members of the band. Valerio Willy Goattin (guitar and vocals) and Alberto Mart í n Valmorisco (guitar) have shared the same stage for many years, until their feet were able to take them. A curious thing is that the germinal idea of forming an Hard Psych band was born after having jammed in a Nepalese local in Kathmandu with other local musicians. After a lot of improvisations on the classic rock of the seventies, experiencing directly the unleashed energy as a possible positive bond between people from different parts of the world, they realized that this was what they always looked for in their travels. Jose Medina Portero (drums) and Javier Burgos Labeaga (bass) had already formed several musical projects with Alberto in Madrid and together they have always shared the same concept of music. So when Willy was finally able to stop in Madrid for one year, Slap Guru materialized spontaneously. In less than three months the band debuted on the stage and went immediately to record in the HeadRoom Studios (Madrid) his first work, “Cosmic Hill”. Andromeda Relix released it in 2016, and re- edited it in January 2017 on a Vinyl format, including 2 extra tracks. Since then Slap Guru has played concert in Spain and Italy, sharing the stage with important bands of the psych-rock scene like Siena Root and Sons of Morpheus. Now Slap Guru have just finish to record their second L.P. “Diagrams of pagan life” that will be released in October 2018 for the Swiss label Sixteentimes Music and that will be promoted with a middle european tour in Autumn Discography Cosmic Hill (2016) Diagrams of pagan life (2018) Members Valerio Willy Goattin (guitar and vocals) Alberto Martín Valmorisco (guitar) Jose Medina Portero (drums) Javier Burgos Labeaga (bass) Tours 29/09- Enredarte / Mostoles (E) 18/10- Red dog / Brescia (I) 20/10- Brutch brothers / Luzern (CH) 23/10- Bern (CH) 24/10- Canara / Verona (I) 26/10- private show / Basel (CH) 27/10- Lausanne (CH) 23/11- Fender club / Getafe (E) Reviews “Vagabonds and neofreaks, the Slap Gurus roam into a dense and smoky rock that explore starry spaces and shady recesses of the deepest seventies. The band finds balance and personality in the pursuit of a hard laid-back attitude, built on relaxed times and the creeping rhythms of those who just smoked a first prize chillum.” CLASSIX magazine #47 “This combo plays classic 70s oriented rock, blues tinged. The voice is really soulful, yet masculine, while guitar weaves vintage riffs of its own. The record is varied, and these guys are capable to craft psychedelic desert tunes resembling a little the culling, soft spoken and shamanic voice of Jim Morrison.” FIRE magazine, N°2 “Their style is the one that can do its magic on the stage: musical crescendos that carry healthy adrenaline, heavy solos, good arrangements and a pair of guitars that really know what they are doing; all this with a mystic and foreign mistery that make even more refined the project. We already feel, from now, the very high potential of this band.” http://www.rockgarage.it “Cosmic Hill is a debut album that bring a breath of fresh air in the 70s hard rock. Their music is not derivative, but is pure essence of what they love.” http://www.musicalnews.com “This debut album presents a promising hard rock reality, tinted of blues and psychedelic sounds that is deeply inspired to the 1970’s musical myth to give birth to a musical revival that fully convinces and astonish for its instrumental and compositional effectiveness.” http://www.rock-metal-essence.com “Slap Guru are good and they let us glimpse the light.” http://www.rockrebelmagazine.com “A series of twists that invite you to span your mind and look to a higher and deeper dimension, halfway between dream and reality, with stories about purple flowers grown on the back and other visionary, delicate and poetic images. This is the extra gear of the band that has great performers inside it, which has good potential to emerge thanks to this mix of good technique, openness to the world and poetic mysticism.” http://www.metallus.it “A great debut that predicts a good future, recommended to those who are now approaching rock, the real one.” http://www.italiadimetallo.it “Six tracks that transpire a muscular and nervous blues rock, rich of hard moments and vicious psychedelic ideas.They try to shake the guts of the listeners with the language of rock, and with the good old ways, often and willingly, they succeed.” CLASSIC ROCK magazine, N°46 “A liberating sensation that has few equal in 2016. A really successful disc.” EXIT WELL magazine, N°8 “A kind of extended played rich of sound intuitions and liberating intentions. The Iberian quartet comes to us through crypto-stoner fittings and blues embroideries, ready to give a soul to clear ideas and visionary arrangements. A successful mix of genres, which seems to be able to move us back and forth on the timeline of rock.” http://www.music-on-tnt.com “Blues, rock, latent psychedelic and stoner components are the main features of this EP. Six tracks exploring a good, expressive and wide range that denotes personality and ability to a very interesting writing and interpretation.” http://www.metallized.it “Definitely pleasant compositions and arrangements, linear and stretch-free performances. A nice surprise!” http://www.artistsandbands.org They are like gypsies or butterflies that switch from a flower to another to deliver their naif load of vintage acid rock, blues and psychedelia.” FIRE magazine, N°4 “The disc has clean sounds and is well produced. You can feel that the band is made up of professionals.” http://www.allaroundmetal.com External Links OFFICIAL WEB SITE: https://slapguru.com/ BANDCAMP: https://slapguruband.bandcamp.com/releases FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/slapguru/ LABEL: https://sixteentimes.com/ References SLAP GURU Category:Band Category:Madrid Category:Spain Category:Psychedelic Rock